Paul Brandt on Alberta:
“I’ve got independence in my veins.
Maybe it’s my down-home redneck roots, 1
Or these dusty old Alberta boots,
but like a shed-off wind keeps coming back again,
Oh, I’m Alberta bound.”
Now, I realize that this seems like a bit of Alberta boosterism … and that’s not ever a bad thing, but the thing to realize is that Alberta isn’t a destination. It’s a state of mind. Alberta is the way forward, the shining example of what Canada should be.
1 I wonder about the “redneck” phrase, but from a Westerner it means one thing and from others it’s derogatory.
Cheers,
lance
I’m a Paul Brandt fan and have heard this song often. But hearing it while actually LISTENING to his words give it a whole new meaning.
WOW
Horny Toad
Thanks, Kate!
I agree that Alberta is not a destination, but rather, a state of mind. I lived in Alberta for about 15 years and finally moved to the ‘destination’ of Vancouver Island where most of the residents enjoy a state of mindlessness.
I did take the Alberta state of mind with me and used it to find other in similar states. There are more than you think. My riding has been conservative for quite some time.
I originally adopted my Alberta state of mind during my formative years in the 60s and 70s in Cleveland Ohio, long long before it became Obama land.
Cleveland was too big-industrial-city dirty and Alberta was a bit too arctic, but I do miss the folks a lot.
Hey all – I still am partial to Paul Gross’ song – “Ride Forever”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMUNl5_HSUs
Talented doode! I still want to sell my screenplays to him
Thank you for recognizing the simple fact that the Alberta state of mind is the way forward. Big government is only interested in becoming bigger and politicians only interested in getting and retaining power. The trouble is we don’t have anyone to look to, to lead us from the wilderness. I’m not advocating for a saviour just an honest man or woman to reach out and do the right thing for once. Things that are good for everyone and not the short sighted reward of political power.
And, also as a Calgary health care guy, how can you not like Paul Brandt??
š
Born in Ontario, came of age in Lotus Land. Got a job on the rigs at 20. Didn’t become a man until I came to Alberta and got tutored. Takes a big dose to countermand 12 years of the educational systems in Ont and BC.
Been saying land of the free, home of the brave ever since.
Makes me wonder how Iggy would have done in a closing time barroom brawl in Wabascaw. Well, maybe not.
RCGZ – I was born in SK, raised there, transplanted to AB – some of the people I met from Ontario perplexed me – it was as if we were from different worlds.
Sad, that!
Alberta cannot protect itself or people working on Alberta projects from middle and eastern Canada’s depredations. PET’s theft of money from Alberta bankrupted Alberta and me in early 80s. I’m for independence for Ontario, and eastward, whether they like it or not. Fuddle Duddle.
Jack
Lance, I think I’m bold enough to say that this is the Saskatchewan state of mind too…or for some, becoming that state of mind! Our province was founded by individuals seeking personal freedom, and in the beginning was built through personal initiative. We are reclaiming our heritage.
Re: The redneck comment –
That is an exact description of how Newfoundlanders feel about the word ‘newfie’, interestingly enough.
Wonderful song.
Muffin, that was entirely my point.
I’m big on the Sask potential and I’m big on Manitoba. I believe in the West and Alberta has shown the way forward. I don’t hold too much faith that the ROC can see it.
That saddens me.
Cheers,
lance
Born in Ontario; travelled North America in my work years; travelled Europe in my golden years. Life made me an Albertan, even though I only visited in both my working years and golden years. Cheers;
Erik, it perplexes me to this day that those Saskatchewan farm boys I met could ever have voted NDP. Absolutely marvelous and ingenious workers.
Where did all those NDP voters come from anyway????
RCGZ – my grandfather, farmer, immigrant from Norway, stopped some young lads, and said – you are too old to be wearing short pants. So he went to Fjerwold’s store, (they grew up maybe less than 100 miles apart in Norway, but didn’t know each other), and he bought stuff for people he didn’t know.
So my grandpa, a staunch NDPer, a giver to mankind, produced me, a guy would never vote anything but PC
Yeah, Alberta is a state of mind. I’ve lived there three different times in my travels. It never fails that I get a wee lump in my throat when ever I’m reminded of Alberta. Terri Clark’s “Gasoline” instantly puts me at the grain elevators at Mossleigh and now Paul Brant has me driving down hwy 22. All great memories.
Sorry, folks, but the sun doens’t shine out of your butt just because you live in Alberta. I enjoyed my years there; nice folks, I admire your spirit, but you aren’t any better than anybody else. Matter of fact, when it comes to arrogant, center of the universe attitudes, it’s a tough call between a latte sipping Torontonian and the average Albertan. You’re both kind of insufferable. Cold and bleak, compared to overcrowded and lefty; I’m glad I won’t be living in either place again.
Sorry, even as one who has lived in Alberta and loved it there, I find this a little over the top.
What has made Alberta prosperous is the same thing that has made Saudi Arabia prosperous: black gold.
That prosperity is almost entirely contingent on the price of a barrel of crude and whether or not an Obama America is willing to forego “dirty oil.”*
* Personally, I don’t think they are, but you never know…
I think it is really a question of where you come from because you never forget home.
No matter how many times I visit the US (or any other country for that matter) I feel like there’s a load off when I cross the border (and I mean any border between Canada and the US) and get back to Canada. There is a difference which is hard to explain and this is true going the other way as well. Americans get a load off as soon as they are back in the good ol’ USA.
The characteristic that makes it special, is the humility. The ability to pick your self up, dust yourself off and start again.
Born in Edmonton, where my great grandfather and his brothers started the dairy, Mullen Bros., a mine, a sawmill etc… going in and out of business and rooting their Irish Catholic family in true pioneer style.
When I was in college I went back (to Peace River) to find my Mom’s family, homesteaders in Marie Reine when she was little, searching for a better life than small town Quebec. Most of my kin still live in Alberta, and I always respond
with strong sentiments of pride and hope whenever ‘Alberta’ becomes the topic.
(But what the heck happened to Edmonton?!)
Albertans have an independent spirit, they are tough and they work hard. Canada should capitilize on this and regain its soul.
lwestin…..what happened to Edmonchuck?.It is a one horse town,with ponies as mayor and council.I was transplanted here 25 years ago,and it was great way back then.Unfortunately,I think you can now say,in all honesty,that Edmonton is a socialist paradise.The last great “announcement” from city hall?ONE BILLION bucks to help the homeless!Where the hell do they think they are going to get that money from?Get your gun Annie?This city voted in a Lieberal damn near every year,and know they have voted in an NDP! Redmonton,indeed.
Nobody ever said the sun shone out of an Albertan’s butt dusty, it’s just that it is a great place to be, even without the black gold. Forests, mining and farming, oh my.
Every territory has it’s own particular “flavour” and to identify with one (or more) isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Far too many Canadians are afraid of being proud of anything or place lest they be compared to an (gasp!) American.
Arthur Hugh Clough. 1819ā1861.
“Say not the Struggle Naught availeth … But westward, look, the land is bright!” …-
Every day, the Kicking Ass Pass is visible from here.
Kick Iggy’s ass: STOPIGGY.
BTW, lwestin.Would that now be Mullen’s trucking?
To be honest Hudson, I am glad you won’t be living here either. I was born and raised here, and I don’t think the sun shines out my arse. Nor do I think our way should be everyone else’s too. We will mostly object to the eastern philosophy of taking money from people that earned it, and giving it to people that haven’t. That has made Ontario and Quebec the weaklings they are today.
Most of the easterners that come to live here are shocked to find that we don’t ride horses to work and eat tree bark for breakfast. Then they are shocked and dismayed at the way this nation treats Alberta and the West – and the blatant unfairness of it.
In any event, Hudson – right now the world wants our oil and to do business with us. They don’t want central Canada’s crappy cars built by overpaid union slugs. Like it or not, there is a power shift moving westward and fellers like you had best get out of the way.
And as the lord said unto the shepard Hudson….f*&koff,this is cattle country!
“Where did all those NDP voters come from anyway????”
They came from those holding jobs in big government (an NDP tradition), staunch unionists, those depending on social assistance (the NDP prefer the “hand out” approach rather than the “hand up”) and seniors fearful of losing their medical benefits (NDP “mediscare” propaganda).
The aforementioned voters, at one time, made up a large portion of the population. Thankfully, Brad Wall and the Sask Party are showing Saskatchewanians that there is a better way.
I have only lived in BC (born) and Alberta. Three times in each place. Both North & South, Urban & Rural in each.
Never been past Saskatchewan. What’s the point?
The smell of poutine became stronger and stronger… so I wandered back towards to the tantalizing aroma of good ol’ Alberta beef.
Redneck & and damn proud of it!
shed-off winds?
It’s chinook winds. Even a Ontario boy like me can hear that.
Being a born and bred Ontario boy, all I can say is this………..HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP!
Someone save us rural eastern Ontarions from chimpy mcidiot and his merry band of latte sipping jerk off artists!
Last Canada Day and how Lisa LaFlamme sees Alberta!From CTV site:(This after his wonderful performance)-
While entertainers from other parts of Canada were lobbed relatively softball questions, Brandt’s friendly interview took a sudden twist.
The “genuine Canadian man” — as his hit single goes — was forced to defend his home province after the news anchor queried Brandt about Alberta’s environmental record.
“You’re from Alberta, right?” she asked.
“There’s a lot going on in Alberta these days. How do you feel about all that, particularly on the environment side of things?”
Brandt’s smile vanished.
The award-winning singer, who had settled in after fielding initial questions on his music, sounded more like a politician.
“It’s such a heady topic and it’s such a difficult thing to know what to think about it,” Brandt responded, clad in a black cowboy hat and shirt.
“There are a lot of issues at the forefront right now, with oil and the environment, the successes that are happening in Alberta, and how our leaders are working hard to try and be responsible with taking care of what we’ve been given.”
JJM
You seem to be green with envy.
I remember not too long ago the provincial Liberals were grinding Day’s butt because they projected $18 barrel oil(it was about $13) and a 2 billion $$ surplus, that was in 1999. The bottom line is Alberta paid its debt and diversified their economy long before $20/barrel oil prices. “PAY YOUR BILLS” that’s the Alberta state of mind!
Alberta and Albertans are better. Period.
In Ontario we have two states of mind. One is a lot like Alberta, where you stand up straight, do what you say you’re going to do, and pull your damn weight. That’s where I live.
Then there’s Toronto where only idiots pull their own weight, keeping your word is a foreign concept, and he who sucks up best wins.
Dating in Toronto used to be… interesting. I eventually started on the immigrant chicks because the native born Ontario ones were such a bunch of spinners. No honor whatsoever, no friggin’ sense at all, just mememememeeeee! Say what you want about Indian girls, at least they don’t piss away all their money and your’s too.
That was back in the ’80s, things have gone badly downhill since then I’m told. I wouldn’t know, I got out in the ’90s and have not been back. Peeves me every time I have to even drive there.
Great post Kate!
Iām sitting here in Singapore tonight, waiting to catch a flight home to Alberta in 8 hours after spending the last five weeks away (mostly Indonesia). A lump really does come to my throat reading the heartfelt comments by some of the commenterās.
If you love a place like Alberta, and work hard and honestly with the belief that your endeavors will mirror its raw beauty, you will never need the trappings ātheyā try to sell you. Good Alberta living & working takes care of its own.
Everyone else is welcome to Ralf Kleinās provincially paid one way bus ticket to anywhere else.
from Gordon Lightfoot
Oh the prairie lights are burning bright
The Chinook (shef off) wind is movin’ in.
Tomorrow night I’ll be Alberta bound
Though I’ve done the best I could
My old luck ain’t been so good and
Tomorrow night I’ll be Alberta bound
No one I’ve met could e’er forget
The Rocky Mountain sunset
It’s a pleasure just to be Alberta bound
I long to see my next of kin
To know what kind of shape they’re in
And tomorrow night I’ll be Alberta bound
Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It’s good to be Alberta bound
Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It’s good to be Alberta bound
Oh the skyline of Toronto is something you’ll get onto
But they say you’ve got to live there for a while
And if you got the money you can get yourself a honey
With a written guarantee ta make you smile
But it’s snowing in the city
And the streets and brown and gritty
And I know there’s pretty girls all over town
But they never seem to find me
And the one I left behind me
Is the reason that I’ll be Alberta bound
Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It’s good to be Alberta bound
Alberta bound, Alberta bound
It’s good to be Alberta bound
It’s good to be Alberta bound
HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP! Someone save us rural eastern Ontarions ~ kingstonlad at February 17, 2009 10:03 AM
I hear you kingstonlad. I’ve lived in seven provinces, including Ontario and Alberta, and I would be hard-pressed to state that any province is superior to others. The fact is that Canada is becoming an urban population, and the lefties naturally gravitate to the cities. All provinces are subject to the disease called socialism, but Ontario has a particularly concentrated infection which unfortunately gives the whole Province a bad rep.
Four Strong Winds
Ian Tyson
Think Iāll go out to Alberta
Weatherās good there in the fall
I got some friends that I could go working for
Still I wish youād change your mind if I asked you one more time
But weāve been through this a hundred times or more
Four strong winds that blow lonely
Seven seas that run high
All those things that donāt change
Come what may
If the good times are all gone
The Iām bound for moving on
Iāll look for you if Iām ever back this way
If I get there before the snow flies and if things are looking good
You could meet me if I send you down the fare
But by then it would be winter
Not too much for you to do
And those winds sure can get cold way out there
The good times are all gone
So Iām bound for moving on
Iāll look for you if Iām ever back this way
Still I wish youād change your mind
If I asked you one more time
But weāve been through that a hundred times or more
Obviously an Alberta Song. it mentions work. If it were a Newfie song it would say heading for the dole. I had forgotton the mention of global warming. Seven Sea that run high. but that was the past and now Obama has cured that , “this is the moment when the oceans cease to rise.”
Where did all those NDP voters come from anyway????
Posted by: RCGZ at February 17, 2009 3:22 AM
Saskatoon, Regina…
Socialism is a communicable disease. Less people to catch it from out in the country.
I would have fonder feelings towards the peoples of my native province if they could keep their finances in order. A dip in the price of oil and suddenly they’re running a deficit the size of Saudi Arabia? Spending a billion+ on some nonsense carbon capture schemes? If Alberta is so folksy and conservative how does this crap happen? Too much oil has ruined Alberta.
Posted by: Matt at February 17, 2009 11:23 AM>
āI would have fonder feelings towards the peoples of my native province if they could keep their finances in order.ā
http://www.finance.alberta.ca/business/ahstf/index.html
Dude, you know not what you say!
There is no āruinedā Alberta, only promise. Roll down your widow and check out you r economic geography for a moment. Aside from the Saudi Royal family, we not be feeling the recession like most folk in da hood this year.
The late Senator Stan Waters once said the term redneck was originally applied to people who “worked out in the fields producing food for all the fat asses who didn’t”.
Describing prairie people as “rednecks” in the context of Stan Waters comment is extremely apt on many levels.
When I moved to Manitoba 34 years ago, I was not a political thinker at all but socialism smacked me in the face. I grew to love my in-laws’ Provence but for the political mindset. SDA is like going home to me. Sanity.
Posted by: Bart F. at February 17, 2009 11:42 AM>
“Describing prairie people as “rednecks” in the context of Stan Waters comment is extremely apt on many levels.”
Yea thatās great Bart!
Iām a bonified Alberta redneck, an in one way or form, and your fat ass produces me food and sustenance in one form or another. Thanks.
Being born in Alberta and calling Edmonton my home address for pretty much all of my life, I can say that the first time I heard Brandt’s song, I cried.
It described exactly how I’ve felt coming home from any number of destinations. I used to have a cat who travelled with my family, and anytime we got close to home, he’d shove his nose to the a/c vent and start to howl, cause he knew we were almost home, and he was just so happy to be home. After living in a couple other places, and coming back to Alberta, I have to say, every time I see the border, I have to smile, cause it means I’m almost home in every sense of the term.
Alberta is a feeling of independence, of strength, of occasional arrogance and unabashed pride. Alberta is redneck and should be proud of that label because frankly, its far better than the alternative, and anyone who calls Alberta home should count themselves damn lucky to do so.
And guys, be nice to Edmonton’s City Council, they’re not all bad.
Letās rewrite that Bartā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦..Itās all the moonshine Iām swilling, through my gap tooth.
Posted by: Bart F. at February 17, 2009 11:42 AM>
“Describing prairie people as “rednecks” in the context of Stan Waters comment is extremely apt on many levels.”
Yea thatās great Bart!
Iām a bonified Alberta redneck, and in one way or form, your fat ass produces me food and sustenance in one form or another. Thanks
Grew up in northern Quebec, worked across Canada including the north, but the Alberta mindset is different, and I like it. It’s hard to put a finger on it, kind of like the difference between southern Alberta and northern Montana, but there is a difference.
I think it’s the difference between wanting to do things on your own and for yourself combined with a feeling of personal responsibility for charitable efforts, with government there to catch you if you fall too hard and in the expectation that you’ll rest only long enough to get back up versus the tedious, whining expectation of entitlement to ever expanding handouts from “the government” with no regard to the cost or any concept of whence may cometh the wealth which enables the handouts in the first place. It’s a generalization of course, but it’s a strong enough impression to keep me coming back to Alberta and viewing it as my home.
Be very affraid. We have all heard this before, we love and need you in the west. Liberals are polygamists, they have 4 wives. The west is the ugly one and all we are good for in their minds is screwing. They tell us they love us, screw us and then they move back into the bedroom with the other three wives and we get the couch in the den.
Iggy, cancel the long gun registry and give farmers a choice first then we will talk. Just as in Seinfeld “No votes(soup) for you” until you give us an example that you are walking the talk.
HEY!
Iāve lived all over Alberta, and have passionately loved every inch of her.
Wake up before dawn in Calgary and drive out to Ghost Dam to catch a trophy trout for breakfast, and then spend the afternoon hiking Morley Indian reserve (Stony Indian) or pheasant hunting local fields (in season). Then have a nice meal that evening in the Calgary Tower or a dinner at Stage West with show or some drinks at the Comedy Cave as a nightcap.
Wow, from sitting in some obscure bistro bullshitting about some irrelevant poet, to fossil hunting the bow river to showing your young child the simplistic beauty of a wiener roast in a crime free city atmosphereā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦..If you do not love Alberta, we do not want you here!
maz2
Your post personifies the word ‘nostalgia’. A better time a better place a better province.
All bullshit…the only thing better about Alberta and anyplace else was there weren’t any computers with jackass nincumpoops living in an illusionary world posting paranoid nonsense.